Malaysian telco Maxis has awarded scholarships to 17 more high-achieving Malaysian students under its Maxis Scholarship for Excellence Awards (MSEA) programme. This brings the total to more than RM41 million (US$13.53 million), which has been given to 226 recipients, it said.

During the awards presentation, Maxis chairman YM Raja Tan Sri Dato' Seri Arshad Raja Tun Uda said the 17 Malaysian undergraduates, who would pursue further studies locally or abroad, were the first batch of Maxis scholars for this year.

"Since the launch of MSEA in 2005, we have been playing a role in nation building by helping to support and further develop a pool of bright and talented young Malaysians. The MSEA scholarship is a means to provide financial aid to the scholars to give them peace of mind to focus on their studies; and we hope that they in turn will make it their mission to serve the nation to the best of their abilities and help others," he said.

MSEA recipients go through a rigorous two-level interview process and are selected in the final stage by a panel of distinguished judges from local educational institutions.

Recipients of the MSEA both past and present have gained admittance to leading universities in Malaysia including Universiti Malaya, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Monash University and International Medical University, as well as some of the world's most prestigious universities namely the London School of Economics, King's College of London, University of Oxford, Imperial College of London, Columbia University and Harvard Business School, in the various fields of their choice.

The next window of selection for the undergraduate scholarship awards is open until 10 May 2013 for the September 2013 intake. Applications for postgraduate scholarships are also open from now until 7 June 2013, also for the September 2013 intake.